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Networking giant Netgear announced the launch of the NeoMediacast HDMI Dongle (NTV300D), a customizable, Miracast-enabled platform that enables telecommunications service providers to use Android applications to offer their subscribers a curated content store of both premium and free Over-the-Top (OTT) content.
With NeoMediacast, service providers can develop and operate a complete media streaming solution that supports multi-screen video initiatives, and the NTV300D integrates the Android software development kit (SDK), giving service providers the tools to build their own premium content store.
The dongle comes with a host of features including 1080p/60 full HD, H.264/MPEG4 video decode, support for HDMI 1.4 and HDCP 2.1, 802.11ac high-speed wireless connectivity, USB powered, a Micro SD slot for playback/storage, a Micro USB for secondary storage, support for Microsoft PlayReady, Google Widevine and Adobe RTMPe and a remote control unit that is Bluetooth supported.
Another benefit is that service providers can leverage the Android apps they have already developed to support linear TV on tablets and phones. Combined with NTV300D support for digital rights management (DRM), this offers service providers a low-cost alternative to set-top boxes, allowing service providers to turn any TV into a Smart TV.
“With the NeoMediacast HDMI Dongle, our service provider customers have the means to provide a plug-and-play solution to their subscribers that also provides opportunities for additional revenue stream,” Michael Clegg, senior vice president and general manager for service provider business at Netgear, said in a statement. “The NTV300D platform supports seamless integration with other Netgear home connectivity devices so that service providers can offer a worry-free connected media solution to their subscribers.”
The company also debuted two cable gateways, the AC1750 WiFi Cable Modem Router (C6300), which combines cable modem speeds of up to 680M bps with Gigabit WiFi speeds of up to 1750M bps, and the N450 WiFi Cable Modem Router, offering speeds up to 340M bps with the fastest 2.4GHz WiFi speed and performance up to 450M bps.
The C6300 boasts an Intel Puma 6 processor and supports the Netgear genie application, a personal dashboard that makes it possible to install, monitor, control and repair a home network from PCs, Macs, and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. The appliance will become available in the second quarter of 2014 for a suggested price of $219.99.
The N450, which retails for $119.99, supports eight download and four upload channels simultaneously, and the two cable gateways are each equipped with four Gigabit Ethernet ports. In addition, users can attach a USB hard drive to the company’s ReadyShare-enabled USB port on the gateways and have wireless access of the storage drive from any device in your home network.